Journey towards redemption
When Emily Grierson walked into the motel that night, she did not have the slightest clue that her life would change after that moment. She had already gone through so much; a break away from everything would have worked wonders. Funny how people think vacations can solve everything. In reality, you could get away as far as you can, but your problems follow you even after vacations. The motel was old and chances that it might have been rat infested were high this did not bother her though. She fumbled in her purse for the old crinkled notes she had managed to stash before she left in a hurry. The brawny man handed her keys, and she rushed up the stairs eager to rest and hopefully leave the past behind. Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care. Maybe these qualities were what had made her so vulnerable, but after tonight, they would not be her curse anymore.
Despite how hard she tried, she could not stop replaying that moment in her head. It was a lot like a bad movie with a complete soundtrack. She had let things go too far, and it disappointed her. She had always heard of situations like this, but she had never fathomed she would be the subject of an unfortunate event. The blow to the head had paralyzed him instantly. She figured that he would come to after a few hours however; she was wrong. She could not stick around for the whole town to blame her after all the years she had tolerated that monster. She had suffered in silence for long enough, and it was time to leave. She had not told anyone where she was going, but by now Rosa, the housekeeper would have found the body and alerted the police.
It had started to rain. She stood up and walked over to the window. The rain always soothed her even on those terrible nights that he had arrived home drunk. On a good night, he would only hit her, but on horrible nights, she would hope he would be too drunk to force himself on her. She had tried to leave once, but she knew him well enough to know the first place she would go. He had come and grabbed her right away back to the hell that had become her life. If someone had first told her that he was a monster, she would never have believed him. Everything is always one shade of color when you are in love. Even in death, he still had the power to torment her.
As she stood there, watching the raindrops, she saw a cat scurry across the street. The cat was trying to make herself so compact that she would not be dripped on. She felt a pang of pity come over her. It is as though she saw herself in the cat, weird as it sounds. It was all alone in the cold outside just as she had been for many years. She thought about going outside to get the cat. It was the right thing to do after all, but looking back at her life, no one had come to her aid. She had waited for such a long time for salvation, and the wait had eventually turned her into a monster. So much so that she had felt excitement with every blow, she had lodged on him earlier that day. Her life had changed. Emily Grierson was no longer that woman. She reached for the pack of cigarettes on the table and lit one as she continued to watch the poor cat struggle just as she had. She needed to make a plan fast.
